The National Science Foundation
has announced a new competition for proposals about biocomplexity
in the environment. The URL for the announcement is http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?nsf0022.
The official title of the program is BIOCOMPLEXITY: SPECIAL
COMPETITION Integrated Research to Understand and Model Complexity
among Biological, Physical, and Social Systems.

This
competition offers special opportunities for the mathematical
and physical sciences. However, the proposal solicitation was
posted only in December 1999 and proposals are due March 1,
2000, with letters of intent by January 31, 2000. There is a
sketch
of the guidelines and opportunities for this program, prepared
by NSF program directors from the Mathematics and Physical Sciences
Directorate.

Updated
Selection Criterion as of 28 January 2000

The
biocomplexity working group for the FY2000 competition has agreed
on a broad understanding of the environmental connection needed
for proposals to this competition.THIS
IS BROADER THAN SOME READINGS OF THE ANNOUNCEMENT MIGHT SUGGEST.

The
following points could be helpful in considering whether a topic
is appropriate for the competition.

5. have a conceptual or mathematical
model that structures the research

6. examine the complex behaviors
of systems, i.e. non-linearities etc., not merely complex (defined
as having many parts) systems, within an environmental context

7. involve integration across
spatial and/or temporal scales

FOR
THE PURPOSE OF THIS COMPETITION, ENVIRONMENT WILL BE CONSIDERED
THE CONDITIONS, CIRCUMSTANCES, AND INFLUENCES, EXTERNAL TO A
SYSTEM, WHICH AFFECT SYSTEM BEHAVIOR.

A
proposal will need to describe its system, its environment,
the model, and so forth.

Letters
of intent for Research Projects are strongly encouraged, even
after the date of 31 January; send them as ordinary text to
biocom@nsf.gov. Proposals for Research Projects and for Incubation
Activities are due via FastLane by 1 March 2000.

Given
the complexity and interdisciplinary nature of the solicitation
and the short time for preparation of proposals, the IMA is
offering a one-day workshop to describe in some detail to
the mathematical and physical sciences community the scientific
opportunities represented by the Biocomplexity Competition
2000. You may register on line here.
The purpose of this workshop is to inform mathematical and
physical scientists about the funding opportunities presented
by the Biocomplexity Competition 2000 and, in particular,
the mathematical research areas that are of greatest interest.
Proposal preparation issues and issues of interdisciplinary
collaboration will also be addressed. In addition, the meeting
will provide a platform for people who are already working
on proposals to exchange ideas and see whether there is enough
overlap to combine proposals or at least to submit them in
a more integrated way. The workshop will begin with a presentation
by representatives of the NSF Division of Mathematical Sciences
on the main issues of the workshop and will be followed by
five talks by researchers working on projects that are highly
relevant to the Biocomplexity Competition 2000, and conclude
with a panel discussion/Q&A session. There will be time provided
for informal interaction among the participants. A
list of awards from last year's Biocomplexity competition
may be found here,
but please note that last year's competition did not have
the environmental requirement that is an element this year.

WORKSHOP
SCHEDULE

All
talks are in the IMA Lecture Hall EE/CS
-180 unless otherwise note